Stockton borton



S. BORTON. 7

OP KNIT FABRICS. Patented Jan. 23,1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STOCKTON BORTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLOOX & GIBBS SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MANUFACTURE OF WELTED 0R HEMMED GOODS 0F KNIT FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 271,190, dated January 23, 1883, Application filed July 8, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STooKToN BORTON, or"- Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Welted or Hemmed Goods of Knit Fabrics, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates more particularly to the formation of a welt or hem upon the bottom of undershirts, tops of long hose, and the edges of other articles made from knitfabric, and has for its objectto make upon an ordinary sewing-machine a strong, neat seam, not Visible on the right side of thearticle, and which may be run close to the cut edge of the fabric without danger of ravelin g.

In carrying the invention into effect one of the layers of fabric is folded upon itself, and another being placed in position the whole is introduced under the presser-foot of the machine and a seam is sewed parallel to thefolded edge through it and the flat layer with stitches equal or approximately equal in length to the ,gage of the fabric sewed. It is desirable to leave as small a margin as possible, and the fabric may be so folded that the seam runs close to the free edge; or the sewing may be performed on any suitable sewing and trimming machine that simultaneously with the stitching trims the free edge close to the seam.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification and illustratethe manner of carrying the invention into effect, Figure 1 is a sectional view through the clothplate and presser-foot of a sewing-machine transverse to the line of feed, showing the work properly placedfor sewing and the needle in the act of piercing it. Fig. 2 is a View in cross-section of a welt or hem sewed with an ordinary straight-ahead seam after it has been flattened out. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, but only partly trimmed; and Fig. 4, a diagram showing the interlacing of the sewing-thread with the knit threads of the fabric.

A is the cloth-plate, B the presser-foot, and O the needle, of the sewing-machine.

The method of folding the goods is shown in Fig. 1, a being the fold through which the seam is made, and b the folded-over portion. 0 The sewing-thread is represented by c, the line of trimming byi and the trimmed-off portion by w. The needle,in sewing, passes in and out on the same side of the folded portion of the fabric, so that when straightened out the seam does not appear, or is but little apparent on the right side of the article. Thelength of feed is so regulated that the stitches will be equal or approximately equal in length to the gage of the fabric. Thus each thread of the goods will be separately held by a loop of the sewing-thread, preventing all tendency to rave]. The position of the stitches relative to the threads of the fabric is illustrated in Fig. 4, the seam being such as is formed on the well- 6 known Willcox & Gibbs single-thread chainstitch machine. v

With seams formed as indicated, with stitches equal in length to, the gage of the fabric, the free edge of the goods may without danger be trimmed oif very close to the line of seam. This may be done by hand after the stitching is completed; but preferably the trimming is performed simultaneously with the stitching by suitable automatic trimming attachments.

I claim- The improvement in the art of Weiting or hemming knit goods, consisting in folding the material upon itself, as explained, uniting the free edge to the fold in the body of the goods by a series of straight-ahead sewing-machine stitches equal in length to the gage of the fabric and removing the surplus material from said edge, substantially as described.

In testimony whereoflhavesigned this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STOCKTON BORTON.

Witnesses PHILIP MAURO, O. J. HEDRIGK. 

